Loma and Teofimo: A Stunning Reversal of Fortune?

Vasiliy Lomachenko said after his fight with Teofimo Lopez that his shoulder was injured going in and reinjured in the second round. This assertion was supported — if not confirmed– by the exchanges between Loma and his cornermen during the mid rounds.  They basically advised him how to fight with one arm. It was almost enough. Lopez got the win as his strong start overcame Loma’s strong finish.

Lomachenko underwent shoulder surgery shortly after the loss.

Since then, things seem to have changed. The brash Brooklynite Lopez has become a bit of an irritant (aka drama queen) as there have been serial postponements of his fight with George Kambosos Jr. with the various reasons being received with less than enthusiasm. First, June 5 to June 19 and then to Aug. 14 when Lopez tested positive for Covid-19.

Lopez said, “I am devastated to disappoint so many people. I know the sacrifices we have all made to get here. I believe I am doing the right thing. I don’t want to infect anybody. Sport has power. I chose to use my power to be a good example.

Pulling no punches, Bob Arum responded: “Now with the vaccination (available), anybody (who) gets COVID, shame on them…because they hadn’t taken the time or they decided for some crazy reason not to get vaccinated. That’s nuts.”

Kambosos reacted by accusing Teofimo of irresponsibility and said, “You can run but you can’t hide.”

Kambosos added, “Your actions and decisions have affected not only our fight but everyone involved in this fight. Pure irresponsibility on your side. Our time will come and I promise you and the world that I’m going to take you out worse than ever for everything.”

Then, surprise of surprises, the Aug. 14 date fell apart and now the fight apparently has been added to the Sept. 11 Triller card featuring the return of former six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya, 48, taking on MMA star Vitor Belfort, 44, in an exhibition.

Lomachenko                                                                                                

Meanwhile, Vasiliy Lomachenko has quietly worked his way back into the limelight in a favorable way. His masterful performance against a very tough Masayoshi Nakatani returned the full shine to his luster.

He tapped his entire skillset looking like a figure skater as he created traps using extraordinary footwork, feints, spins, and his signature pivots. He couples this with over-all dazzling speed and power punching. Nakatani (who went the distance with Lopez in 2019) absorbed severe punishment. Loma finally ended the slaughter with his heavy-handed power punching in the ninth round.

“I’m back and on track,” said Lomachenko. “I will make Lopez pay for what he’s been saying.”

The outspoken Lopez had best take notice. Prudence dictates that he should not give Lomachenko the rematch. In fact, Lopez might opt to go up in weight as a safer route, but if he swerves around the Ukrainian, the criticism will very loud, the insults deep, and the call for redemption difficult to deny.

It wasn’t that long ago when Lopez was bragging about his win over Lomachenko and hailed at the next big thing in boxing. Concurrently, Loma was being criticized for making excuses for the loss including the aforementioned injured shoulder. Some even called him a crybaby.

That has all changed now in a stunning reversal of events. Those who see conspiracies might see one in the Lopez postponements as a way to get the maximum date and location in an event that will attract the most fans. Being on an Oscar De La Hoya card will do wonders for Triller and for the gate.

But Team Loma will now go on the offensive and point out that suddenly he has once again become the A-Side.

Ted Sares enjoys writing about boxing. He can be reached at tedsares@roadrunner.com

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